Pleinmont is an observation tower built by the Germans during World War Two in their effort to make Guernsey an ‘impregnable’ fortress.. The tower is five storeys tall and still has the original range finders fitted.
Visiting Pleinmont Observation Tower
Although Pleinmont Observation Tower is open for the public to visit, times are extremely limited. In 2020 it was only open on Sunday afternoons in August. There is a car park nearby and lets be honest, it’s not the kind of place you’re going to struggle to spot!
My Experience
We had a pleasant visit to Pleinmont Observation Tower although we couldn’t go inside. Impressive location though.
Pleinmont Observation Tower Photo Gallery
History
After the Wehrmacht occupied the Channel Islands on 30 June 1940, they assessed the existing defences to determine if they would be of use. The Germans found the Islands’ fortifications antiquated and woefully inadequate for modern warfare.
Because the Germans expected to invade the United Kingdom in the autumn of 1940, they decided that expenditure on defences for the islands would be a waste. Initially the Germans built only feldmässige Anlage (field-type construction) positions. By 1941 the prospect of conquering Britain had decreased and the probability of an eastern war increased, requiring defences to be built to reduce the number and quality of troops required to defend the western ocean areas. Whilst the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine had their roles in protecting the islands from the Allies, the occupying forces put their main effort into land defences aimed at repelling a seaborne or airborne assault.
The resulting construction work in the Channel Islands was extensive; it required thousands of workers and massive supplies of cement and steel. Tiny Guernsey received special treatment. It had the largest artillery pieces in the Channel Islands, tanks, and 12,000 troops: one soldier for every two civilians on the island, compared to France which had a 1:80 ratio, or higher.
Battery Dollmann at Pleinmont is open to the public to visit; it has one of the four 22 cm gun pits and a number of trenches restored. It features accommodation bunkers and two fortress quality ammunition bunkers, all linked by deep, concrete-lined trenches. A command and an observation bunker completes the major fortifications. Its guns had a range of 23 kilometres (14 mi). Barbed wire, 2 cm Flak positions, a Tobruk pit, 150 cm searchlight, minefields, Pak40 anti tank gun, and a Freya radar supported the battery. Naval Range-finding Tower MP 3 at Pleinmont, which has 5 observation levels and had a radar unit on the roof, has become a museum, open to the public.
References
Opening times are on the Visit Guernsey website here.
The history above is copied from the Wiki page here.